Book Discussion - next Thursday, Nov 7th at 6pm - Montrose Library - GERMINAL by Emile Zola
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Alice Aman
Nov 1, 2013, 2:53:52 PM11/1/13
to MontroseG...@googlegroups.com
Hi everyone -
Next week on Thursday, November 7th at 6pm at the Houston
Freed-Montrose Library, we will discuss GERMINAL by Emile Zola. Ruthie
will be leading the discussion.
Hope to see you then!
--Alice
http://www.houstonbookclubs.org/Montrose
http://www.houstongreatbooks.net/montrose.html
===UPCOMING DISCUSSIONS==========
November 7 - Ruthie
GERMINAL by Emile Zola (publ 1885) 525 pages
Often considered Zola's masterpiece and one of the most significant
novels in the French tradition, the novel – an uncompromisingly harsh
and realistic story of a coalminers' strike in northern France in the
1860s – has been published and translated in over one hundred
countries as well as inspiring five film adaptations and two
television productions.
--Ruthie Leading Discussion
December 5 - Alice
BABYLON REVISITED (short story) by F Scott Fitzgerald (publ 1931) 11
to 20 pages (depending on version)
Available online at:
http://www.houstonbookclubs.org/stories/Firzgerald_BabylonRevisited20.pdf
According to THE TELEGRAPH, one of the finest short stories in the
English language. Written after the Great Crash, it is an intensely
personal portrait of a man who has squandered his life. A tale of boom
and bust, about the debts one has to pay when the party comes to an
end.
--Alice Leading Discussion
January 2nd - will not meet because of holiday week
February 6- Marcella
MIDDLEMARCH by George Elliot [pub 1874] 832 pages<br>
set in the fictitious Midlands town of Middlemarch during the period
1830 through 1832. It has multiple plots with a large cast of
characters, and in addition to its distinct though interlocking
narratives it pursues a number of underlying themes, including the
status of women, the nature of marriage, idealism and self-interest,
religion and hypocrisy, political reform, and education. <br>
[VERY LONG BOOK CATEGORY - Please take advantage of shorter reading
during previous months and begin this book well in advance]
--Marcella Leading Discussion
March 6- Will
THE STREET OF CROCODILES by Bruno Schulz (publ 1934) 160 pages
The novel is split into thirteen chapters or stories, each of which
focuses on a different part of the Polish city of Drogobych, or on an
aspect of the authors childhood home life. Through a child's eyes,
events, sensations, ideas and thoughts are conveyed with brilliant,
dazzling imagery. Vivid, almost too-bright pictures are painted with
words in a way that is both surreal, magical and ordinary.
--Will Leading Discussion
April 3 - Will
HENDERSON THE RAIN KING by Saul Bellow (publ 1959) 352 pages
A hilarious, often ribald story, it is also a profound look at the
forces that drive a man through life. A grumpy, spoiled, acerbic,
rich American in his 50's seeks to discover meaning and wisdom and
fulfillment by leaving New York and traveling to Africa to live and
commune with a primitive African tribe.
--Will Leading Discussion
May 1- Alice
THE SWIMMER (short story) by Cheever (publ 1964) 12 pages
Available online at:
http://www.houstonbookclubs.org/stories/Cheever_TheSwimmer.pdf
The story is highly praised for its blend of realism and surrealism,
the thematic exploration of suburban America, especially the
relationship between wealth and happiness, as well as his use of myth
and symbolism.
--Alice Leading Discussion
June 5- Ruthie
LIGHT IN AUGUST by William Faulkner (publ 1932) 480 pages
In a loose, unstructured modernist narrative style that draws from
Christian allegory and oral storytelling, Faulkner explores themes of
race, sex, class and religion in the American South. By focusing on
characters that are misfits and outcasts, he portrays the clash of
alienated individuals against a Puritanical, prejudiced rural society
--Ruthie Leading Discussion
July 3 - Claudia
A GOOD SCENT FROM A STRANGE MOUNTAIN by Robert Olin Butler (publ 2001) 288 pages
1993 Pulitzer Prize Winner
With fifteen short stories, this book takes you into the ordeals about
being a Vietnamese transplant to the US, specifically to New Orleans,
The voices are young, old, and have a diverse background. The mix
brings alive and humanizes this often misunderstood period of our
nation's history.
--Claudia Leading Discussion
Next week on Thursday, November 7th at 6pm at the Houston
Freed-Montrose Library, we will discuss GERMINAL by Emile Zola. Ruthie
will be leading the discussion.
Hope to see you then!
--Alice
http://www.houstonbookclubs.org/Montrose
http://www.houstongreatbooks.net/montrose.html
===UPCOMING DISCUSSIONS==========
November 7 - Ruthie
GERMINAL by Emile Zola (publ 1885) 525 pages
Often considered Zola's masterpiece and one of the most significant
novels in the French tradition, the novel – an uncompromisingly harsh
and realistic story of a coalminers' strike in northern France in the
1860s – has been published and translated in over one hundred
countries as well as inspiring five film adaptations and two
television productions.
--Ruthie Leading Discussion
December 5 - Alice
BABYLON REVISITED (short story) by F Scott Fitzgerald (publ 1931) 11
to 20 pages (depending on version)
Available online at:
http://www.houstonbookclubs.org/stories/Firzgerald_BabylonRevisited20.pdf
According to THE TELEGRAPH, one of the finest short stories in the
English language. Written after the Great Crash, it is an intensely
personal portrait of a man who has squandered his life. A tale of boom
and bust, about the debts one has to pay when the party comes to an
end.
--Alice Leading Discussion
January 2nd - will not meet because of holiday week
February 6- Marcella
MIDDLEMARCH by George Elliot [pub 1874] 832 pages<br>
set in the fictitious Midlands town of Middlemarch during the period
1830 through 1832. It has multiple plots with a large cast of
characters, and in addition to its distinct though interlocking
narratives it pursues a number of underlying themes, including the
status of women, the nature of marriage, idealism and self-interest,
religion and hypocrisy, political reform, and education. <br>
[VERY LONG BOOK CATEGORY - Please take advantage of shorter reading
during previous months and begin this book well in advance]
--Marcella Leading Discussion
March 6- Will
THE STREET OF CROCODILES by Bruno Schulz (publ 1934) 160 pages
The novel is split into thirteen chapters or stories, each of which
focuses on a different part of the Polish city of Drogobych, or on an
aspect of the authors childhood home life. Through a child's eyes,
events, sensations, ideas and thoughts are conveyed with brilliant,
dazzling imagery. Vivid, almost too-bright pictures are painted with
words in a way that is both surreal, magical and ordinary.
--Will Leading Discussion
April 3 - Will
HENDERSON THE RAIN KING by Saul Bellow (publ 1959) 352 pages
A hilarious, often ribald story, it is also a profound look at the
forces that drive a man through life. A grumpy, spoiled, acerbic,
rich American in his 50's seeks to discover meaning and wisdom and
fulfillment by leaving New York and traveling to Africa to live and
commune with a primitive African tribe.
--Will Leading Discussion
May 1- Alice
THE SWIMMER (short story) by Cheever (publ 1964) 12 pages
Available online at:
http://www.houstonbookclubs.org/stories/Cheever_TheSwimmer.pdf
The story is highly praised for its blend of realism and surrealism,
the thematic exploration of suburban America, especially the
relationship between wealth and happiness, as well as his use of myth
and symbolism.
--Alice Leading Discussion
June 5- Ruthie
LIGHT IN AUGUST by William Faulkner (publ 1932) 480 pages
In a loose, unstructured modernist narrative style that draws from
Christian allegory and oral storytelling, Faulkner explores themes of
race, sex, class and religion in the American South. By focusing on
characters that are misfits and outcasts, he portrays the clash of
alienated individuals against a Puritanical, prejudiced rural society
--Ruthie Leading Discussion
July 3 - Claudia
A GOOD SCENT FROM A STRANGE MOUNTAIN by Robert Olin Butler (publ 2001) 288 pages
1993 Pulitzer Prize Winner
With fifteen short stories, this book takes you into the ordeals about
being a Vietnamese transplant to the US, specifically to New Orleans,
The voices are young, old, and have a diverse background. The mix
brings alive and humanizes this often misunderstood period of our
nation's history.
--Claudia Leading Discussion
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